U.S. patent application number 13/449815 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-24 for targeted advertising based on client-side tracking.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is Fernando Barsoba, David T. Britt, Jason P. Hawrysz. Invention is credited to Fernando Barsoba, David T. Britt, Jason P. Hawrysz.
Application Number | 20130282485 13/449815 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49380982 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130282485 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barsoba; Fernando ; et
al. |
October 24, 2013 |
Targeted Advertising Based on Client-Side Tracking
Abstract
Methods and systems may involve building a positive semantic
network of advertising terms base on a web browsing activity of a
user, and building a negative semantic of advertising terms based
on one or more exclusion requests from the user. Additionally, the
positive semantic network and the negative semantic network may be
transmitted to a remote server while withholding information
related to the identity of the user.
Inventors: |
Barsoba; Fernando; (Durham,
NC) ; Britt; David T.; (Greensboro, NC) ;
Hawrysz; Jason P.; (Durham, NC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Barsoba; Fernando
Britt; David T.
Hawrysz; Jason P. |
Durham
Greensboro
Durham |
NC
NC
NC |
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
49380982 |
Appl. No.: |
13/449815 |
Filed: |
April 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.53 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20120101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method comprising: building a positive
semantic network of advertising terms based on a web browsing
activity of a user on a local client device; transmitting the
positive semantic network to a remote server; receiving one or more
advertisements at the local client device, wherein at least one of
the one or more advertisements correspond to the positive semantic
network; building a negative semantic network of advertising terms
based on one or more exclusion requests from the user, wherein at
least one of the one or more exclusion requests are relative to at
least one of the one or more advertisements; transmitting the
negative semantic network to the remote server; storing the
positive semantic network and the negative semantic network on the
local client device; associating the positive semantic network and
the negative semantic network with a profile of the user on the
local client device; and withholding an identity of the user from
the remote server.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the positive semantic network
reflects terms potentially of interest to the user.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the negative semantic network
reflects terms not of interest to the user.
4. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving one or more
inclusion requests from the user via a network editor interface,
wherein the positive semantic network is built further based on the
one or more inclusion requests; and receiving one or more
additional exclusion requests from the user via the network editor
interface, wherein the negative semantic network is built further
based on the one or more additional exclusion requests.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the web browsing activity
includes one or more of web page accesses and online
transactions.
6. A computer program product comprising: a computer readable
storage medium; and computer usable code stored on the computer
readable storage medium, wherein if executed by a processor, the
computer usable code causes a local client device to: build a
positive semantic network of advertising terms based on a web
browsing activity of a user; transmit the positive semantic network
to a remote server; receive one or more advertisements, wherein at
least one of the one or more advertisements are to correspond to
the positive semantic network; build a negative semantic network of
advertising terms based on one or more exclusion requests from the
user, wherein at least one of the one or more exclusion requests
are to be relative to at least one of the one or more
advertisements; transmit the negative semantic network to the
remote server; store the positive semantic network and the negative
semantic network on the local client device; associate the positive
semantic network and the negative semantic network with a profile
of the user on the local client device; and withhold an identity of
the user from the remote server.
7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the positive
semantic network is to reflect terms potentially of interest to the
user.
8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the negative
semantic network is to reflect terms not of interest to the
user.
9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to:
receive one or more inclusion requests from the user via a network
editor interface, wherein the positive semantic network is to be
built further based on the one or more inclusion requests; and
receive one or more additional exclusion requests from the user via
the network editor interface, wherein the negative semantic network
is to be built further based on the one or more additional
exclusion requests.
10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the web
browsing activity is to include one or more of web page accesses
and online transactions.
11. A computer program product comprising: a computer readable
storage medium; and computer usable code stored on the computer
readable storage medium, wherein if executed by a processor, the
computer usable code causes a local client device to: build a
positive semantic network of advertising terms based on a web
browsing activity of a user; build a negative semantic network of
advertising terms based on one or more exclusion requests from the
user; and transmit the positive semantic network and the negative
semantic network to a remote server.
12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to receive
one or more advertisements, wherein at least one of the one or more
advertisements are to correspond to the positive semantic
network.
13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein at least one
of the one or more exclusion requests are to be relative to at
least one of the one or more advertisements.
14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to
withhold an identity of the user from the remote server.
15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to store
the positive semantic network and the negative semantic network on
the local client device.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to
associate the positive semantic network and the negative semantic
network with a profile of the user on the local client device.
17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the positive
semantic network is to reflect terms potentially of interest to the
user.
18. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the negative
semantic network is to reflect terms not of interest to the
user.
19. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the computer
usable code, if executed, causes the local client device to:
receive one or more inclusion requests from the user via a network
editor interface, wherein the positive semantic network is to be
built further based on the one or more inclusion requests; and
receive one or more additional exclusion requests from the user via
the network editor interface, wherein the negative semantic network
is to be built further based on the one or more additional
exclusion requests.
20. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the web
browsing activity is to include one or more of web page accesses
and online transactions.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to
online advertising. More particularly, embodiments relate to
client-side management of semantic networks for online
advertising.
[0002] Conventional online advertising solutions may use small
files and programs such as "cookies", "Flash cookies" and "beacons"
to track the web browsing activity of users, wherein the deployment
of these techniques may lead to privacy concerns due to the
potential release of sensitive information such as user identity.
While recent "do not track" mechanisms may be under consideration
as a privacy solution, there remains considerable room for
improvement. For example, a do not track alternative may have a
significant negative impact on the online advertising industry.
Moreover, such an approach may limit the user to only generic
advertising as well as reduce the amount of free online
content.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] Embodiments may include a computer program product having a
computer readable storage medium and computer usable code stored on
the computer readable storage medium. If executed by a processor,
the computer usable code may cause a local client device to build a
positive semantic network of advertising terms based on a web
browsing activity of a user, and build a negative semantic network
of advertising terms based on one or more exclusion requests from
the user. Additionally, the computer usable code can cause the
local client device to transmit the positive semantic network and
the negative semantic network to a remote server.
[0004] Embodiments may also include a computer implemented method
of managing online advertising in which a positive semantic network
of advertising terms is built on a local client device based on a
web browsing activity of a user. The method can also provide for
transmitting the positive semantic network to a remote server, and
receiving one or more advertisements at the local client device,
wherein at least one of the one or more advertisements correspond
to the positive semantic network. In addition, a negative semantic
network of advertising terms may be built based on one or more
exclusion requests from the user, wherein at least one of the one
or more exclusion requests are relative to at least one of the one
or more advertisements. The method may also provide for
transmitting the negative semantic network to the remote server,
storing the positive semantic network and the negative semantic
network on the local client device, and associating the positive
semantic network and the negative semantic network with a profile
of the user on the local client device. Moreover, an identity of
the user may be withheld from the remote server.
[0005] Embodiments may also include a computer program product
having a computer readable storage medium and computer usable code
stored on the computer readable storage medium. If executed by a
processor, the computer usable code may cause a local client device
to build a positive semantic network of advertising terms based on
a web browsing activity of a user on the local client device, and
transmit the positive semantic network to a remote server.
Additionally, the computer usable code can cause the local client
device to receive one or more advertisements, wherein at least one
of the one or more advertisements are to correspond to the positive
semantic network. The computer usable code may also cause the local
client device to build a negative semantic network of advertising
terms based on one or more exclusion requests from the user,
wherein at least one of the one or more exclusion requests are to
be relative to at least one of the one or more advertisements. In
addition, the computer usable code may cause the local client
device to transmit the negative semantic network to the remote
server, and store the positive semantic network and the negative
semantic network on the local client device. Moreover, the computer
usable code may cause the local client device to associate the
positive semantic network and the negative semantic network with a
profile of the user on the local client device, and withhold an
identity of the user from the remote server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The various advantages of the embodiments of the present
invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading
the following specification and appended claims, and by referencing
the following drawings, in which:
[0007] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an example of a client-side
online advertising architecture according to an embodiment;
[0008] FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an example of a server-side
online advertising architecture according to an embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a method of managing
online advertising according to an embodiment; and
[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a networking
architecture according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of
the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or
computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present
invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident
software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and
hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a
"circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the
present invention may take the form of a computer program product
embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer
readable program code embodied thereon.
[0012] Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s)
may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer
readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A
computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not
limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any
suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a
non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would
include the following: an electrical connection having one or more
wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access
memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable
read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a
portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage
device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of
the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable
storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or
store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction
execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0013] A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated
data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein,
for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a
propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including,
but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable
combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any
computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage
medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program
for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,
apparatus, or device.
[0014] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be
transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited
to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any
suitable combination of the foregoing.
[0015] Computer program code for carrying out operations for
aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination
of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented
programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and
conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C"
programming language or similar programming languages. The program
code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the
user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the
user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the
remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider).
[0016] Aspects of the present invention are described below with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program
instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or
blocks.
[0017] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other
programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored
in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture
including instructions which implement the function/act specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0018] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a
computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other
devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on
the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to
produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions
which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus
provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in
the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 1A, a client-side browser 10 is shown,
wherein a user 12 ("Alice") may interact with the browser 10 in
order to conduct online transactions and/or access online content
such as web sites, pages, portals, and so forth. Example browsers
include, but are not limited to, Firefox and/or Firefox Mobile from
Mozilla, Internet Explorer and/or Internet Explorer for Mobile from
Microsoft, other device-specific proprietary browsers (e.g., Apple
iPhone web browser), etc. In the illustrated example, the user 12
navigates to an e-commerce (electronic commerce) site 16 of a
retailer (e.g., "Nordstrom") and selects content 14 such as a shirt
description. This web browsing activity may result in the automatic
creation and/or modification of a positive semantic network 18
(18a-18d) of advertising terms, wherein the positive semantic
network 18 may generally reflect terms potentially of interest to
the user 12. In the illustrated example, the positive semantic
network 18 includes a retailer entry 18a that is linked either
directly or indirectly with other related advertising terms such
as, for example, a shirts entry 18b, a fashion entry 18c, a
shopping entry 18d, an online entry 18, and so forth.
[0020] Thus, the illustrated approach represents an "automatic
inclusion" solution that is managed by the browser 10 in order to
minimize the amount of "non-browsing" input obtained from the user
12. Accordingly, the building of the positive semantic network 18
can have a minimal impact on the user's browsing experience. As the
user 12 performs web searches, the browser 10 may interpret the
user's search keywords and incorporate them into the positive
semantic network 18. Additionally, as the illustrated user 12
interacts with a web page, the browser 10 may pull keywords/terms
that are germane to the content of the web page and integrate those
terms into the positive semantic network 18. Of particular note is
that the illustrated terms that are integrated into the positive
semantic network 18 are related strictly to content and contain no
personal or otherwise identifying information with regard to the
user 12.
[0021] For example, as the user 12 searches the web for a shirt,
tickets, movies, etc., the browser may build the positive semantic
network 18 from terms such as: "concerts"; a particular singer
(e.g., "Lady Gaga"); "clothing"; a particular retailer (e.g.,
"Nordstrom"); "movies"; a particular movie (e.g., "Titanic"); a
particular actor (e.g., "DiCaprio"), and so forth. The user's name
(Alice), however, is never added to the positive semantic network
18, in the illustrated example. Accordingly, should the user 12
purchase an item from the retailer, the positive semantic network
18 may record nothing of the transaction, financial information, or
credit information that may reflect the identity of the user 12.
Thus, as the user's positive semantic network 18 continues to grow,
it holds only information about the subjects in which she is
interested, but nothing about the user 12 herself. Indeed, should
the positive semantic network 18 be viewed out of context, the
viewer would not be able to associate that semantic network 18 with
the user 12, in the example shown.
[0022] With continuing reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the
illustrated browser 10 generates one or more transmissions 24, 25
to a remote server 26, wherein the transmissions 24, 25 include
instructions and/or data such as standard web protocol requests,
and so forth, as well as an appropriate data structure 28 for
communicating the positive semantic network 18 to the remote server
26. As will be discussed in greater detail, the data structure 28
may also include a negative semantic network 30 (30a-30c) that
generally reflects advertising terms not of interest to the user
12. The particular format of the data structure 28 may be any
format suitable for the browser 10 and or remote server 26. In one
example, XML (extensible markup language) is used to create the
data structure 28. Moreover, the positive semantic network 18 and
the negative semantic network 30 may be stored to memory of the
local client device on which the browser 10 executes.
[0023] The transmissions 24, 25 may therefore be used by an HTTP
(hypertext transfer protocol) server 32 to select content, as well
as by an ad rotator 34 to select advertisements (ads). With
specific regard to the ad rotator 34, a parsing/analysis of the
data structure 28 may be conducted to determine the advertising
terms of the positive semantic network 18 and the negative semantic
network 30. The ad rotator 34 may select a first set of
advertisements 38 (38a-38c) that are in, comply with, or are
otherwise related to, the positive semantic network 18. The ad
rotator 34 may also select a second set of advertisements 40 that
are outside, or otherwise not in conflict with the negative
semantic network 30. If the negative semantic network 30 has not
yet been created, the second set of advertisements 40 may selected
from all advertisements available to the ad rotator 34. Although
the second set of advertisements 40 includes a single ad in the
example shown, the second set of advertisements 40 could include
multiple ads. In the illustrated example, a responsive transmission
36 is generated based on the content selected by the HTTP server 32
and the ads selected by the ad rotator 34.
[0024] Ads from the first set of advertisements 38 such as the
advertisement 38a, and ads from the second set of advertisements 40
may be displayed alongside the content 14 in the browser 10,
wherein the user 12 can be provided with an exclude menu 42 (e.g.,
right click listing of options) for the ads displayed in the
browser 10. The illustrated exclude menu 42 enables the user 12 to
actively prevent particular ads and/or ads of a certain type from
being displayed in the browser 10. In this regard, since the
illustrated ad rotator 34 is free to select any available ads that
are outside the negative semantic network 30 (which may not even
exist in the early stages of network building), it may be possible
that the user 12 can receive an advertisement for which she has no
interest. Accordingly, the illustrated "active exclusion" solution
enables the user 12 to build the negative semantic network 30 while
browsing.
[0025] For example, Alice has not browsed any web pages related to
the genre of action movies, but she has also not explicitly
indicated that she has no interest in this type of content. As
Alice is shopping on the retailer's web site, an advertisement 40
for an action movie has been delivered to her by the web server 26.
Deciding that she does not wish to receive information about this
type of content, she right clicks on the advertisement, and is
presented with the menu 42 that gives an option to exclude that
specific advertisement, content relating to that specific movie,
content relating to action movies, or content relating to all
movies. She selects the option to exclude content related to action
movies, and the appropriate keywords/terms related to the action
genre are added to her negative semantic network 30. As a result,
Alice will no longer receive ads for action movies while browsing,
in the example shown.
[0026] The illustrated example also includes a network editor
interface 44 that enables the user 12 to pro-actively include and
exclude terms from the positive semantic network 18 as well as the
negative semantic network 30. In particular, one or more inclusion
entries/requests may be received from the user 12 via the network
editor interface 44, wherein the positive semantic network 18 can
be built based on the inclusion requests. Similarly, one or more
exclusion entries/requests may be received from the user 12 via the
network editor interface 44, wherein the negative semantic network
30 can be built based on the exclusion requests. Thus, the
exclusion requests received via the network editor interface 44 may
be in addition to the exclusion requests received via the exclude
menu 42. Terms may also be removed from either of the semantic
networks 18, 30 via the network editor interface 44.
[0027] For example, Alice may have no interest in subjects with
automotive or gardening content. Using the interface 44, she can
open her semantic networks 18, 30 and manually enter the terms
"automotive" and "gardening" into her negative semantic network 30.
Similarly, while browsing for concert tickets for a particular
singer (e.g., Lady Gaga), she could accidentally click on a web
page containing content that Alice finds distasteful. Though she
may close out of that web page, terms for the content might have
already been added to her positive semantic network 18 (e.g., via
the automatic inclusion solution, already discussed). To prevent
this subject from remaining in her network of interests, she opens
the interface 44, locates the distasteful terms in the positive
semantic network 18, and deletes them.
[0028] The illustrated example also includes a profile login
interface 46 that enables the user 12 to associate the semantic
networks 18, 30 with a profile dedicated to the user 12 in question
and stored locally on memory of the client device. In this regard,
it may not be uncommon for multiple users to share the same
computer. The illustrated profile login interface 46 may therefore
enable the user's browsing habits to be prevented from affecting
the interests recorded automatically for another user. In
particular, the user 12 can enter a user identity or user
ID/password combination to identify the user 12 to the browser 10.
In doing so, the browser 10 may then create a distinct semantic
network pair for only that user 12.
[0029] For example, consider a scenario in which Alice has actively
excluded the action movie genre from her browsing experience on a
computer that she shares with a younger relative who enjoys
watching action movies. The younger relative may be aware that his
interests differ from those of Alice, and might create his own user
profile on the shared computer's browser 10. Upon accessing the
computer, he may utilize the interface 46 to identify himself to
the browser 10, wherein the login process instructs the browser 10
to use the semantic network pair that has been maintained
specifically for this younger relative. Because the younger
relative's profile has been unaffected by Alice's web browsing, as
he begins browsing the Internet, he now frequently sees
advertisements for upcoming action movies in which he may be
interested in seeing.
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 2, a method 50 of managing online
advertising is shown. Illustrated processing block 52 provides for
building a positive semantic network of advertising terms based on
the web browsing activity of a user on a local client device,
wherein the positive semantic network may be transmitted to a
remote server at block 54. Information related to the identity of
the user may also be withheld at block 54. One or more
advertisements may be received at block 56, wherein at least one of
the received advertisements corresponds to the positive semantic
network. In addition, illustrated block 58 builds a negative
semantic network based on one or more exclusion requests from the
user. In one example, at least one of the exclusion requests is
relative to an advertisement received at block 56. A positive and
negative semantic network pairing may be transmitted to the remote
server at block 60, wherein the identity of the user can withheld
once again. Illustrated block 62 also provides for storing the
positive and negative semantic networks on the local client device.
Additionally, the positive and negative semantic networks may be
associated with a user profile on the local client device at block
64.
[0031] FIG. 3 shows a networking architecture 66 in which a user
equipment (UE) device 68 includes a browser 10, and a web server 26
includes an HTTP server 32 and an ad rotator 34, as already
discussed. In the illustrated example, the server 26 is configured
to provide web content and advertisements to the UE device 68 via a
network 70, wherein the advertisements are targeted/tailored to the
web browsing activity and preferences of a user without the web
server 26 having access to the identity of the user. The network 70
can itself include any suitable combination of servers, access
points, routers, base stations, mobile switching centers, public
switching telephone network (PSTN) components, etc., to facilitate
communication between the UE device 68 and the server 26.
Techniques described herein may therefore protect the user's
privacy while still providing to advertisers the benefits of
targeted advertising.
[0032] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more
executable instructions for implementing the specified logical
function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative
implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of
the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in
succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or
the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order,
depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted
that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart
illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams
and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special
purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions
or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer
instructions. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. may be
used herein only to facilitate discussion, and carry no particular
temporal or chronological significance unless otherwise
indicated.
[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing
description that the broad techniques of the embodiments of the
present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms.
Therefore, while the embodiments of this invention have been
described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true
scope of the embodiments of the invention should not be so limited
since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled
practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification, and
following claims.
* * * * *